1,180 million to buy vehicles for Ministers - Update

1,180 million to buy vehicles for Ministers - Update

A criticism is brewing among the masses by now about presenting the supplementary estimate of Rs. 118 crores to parliament for the purchase of
vehicles for Ministers. Some have even tended to compare the price hike of vehicles of the common man in recent times with prices of these vehicles. The gap created between Ministers of the government and the common man has given rise to class distinction through this process. Opinions have been expressed that the Good Governance regime which had been brought into power with the objective of minimising wastage is now resorting to spending public expenditure without any public opinion and that it is unjustified. 

Whatever it is, what Minister of Mass Communication Gayantha Karunatillaka who brought forward this estimate to parliament says in this connection is that the price of vehicles has been publicised in this manner because vehicles were to be so bought across parliament and that vehicles bought by Ministers and MPs in previous governments even at higher prices were not publicised upto now. The Minister further said that all these are being done for the sake of serving the public and not because priority is given for personal reasons. He also added that vehicles utilised by certain politicos are even older than 8 years and that the requirement of vehicles for those politicos are more when compared to others. "Today the prices of vehicles have gone up and in general a vehicle could be bought once every 5 years. It is wrong to make criticisms about statistics in this manner", he had said. 

In the meantime, Minister Harin Fernando had mentioned that a misleading 'mud-slinging' opinion has been launched by the social media saying that a sum of over 9.1 crores is being expended for his own sake and for the vehicle of his Deputy Minister Tharanath. He says that such a requisite had been made for those vehicles by his Secretary and that he in fact had no such necessity.